Protective Strategies in the 1990s: A Review of the Policy Discourses in UNHCR and the Executive Committee. Report prepared under a grant from the Research Programme on Forced Migration, the Research Council of Norway

Abstract

The study examines changing policy doctrines for protecting refugees, as reflected in the official documents of UNHCR and its Executive Committee (ExCom) composed of nation states. Collectively, the two bodies determine what is legitimate international practice for protecting refugees within the framework of international law and which should constitute the point of departure for national asylum policies. To contextualize the changing doctrines, the structure and working procedures of UNHCR are examined (section 1), as well as major trends in international refugee movements (section 2). The major par of the study examines the discourse on protection strategies in the 1990s. While the specific issues varied, the study found that the overarching theme was the need to safeguard the institution of asylum which was increasingly in danger.

The study was supported by a grant from the Program on Forced Migration of the Norwegian Research Council. Gro Tjore is a researcher at the Chr. Michelsen Institute.